1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a means for providing an improved heat exchange method utilizing a wick clip or wick holder assembly in a melting plate candle or other candle assembly, having a replaceable wick and/or fuel puck. This invention is most particularly designed to be used in a melting plate candle having means to provide a capillary feed between the wick holder and the melting plate, as well as in jar candles or conventional container candles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Clips which locate and secure wicks for candles and for devices which dispense vapors into the ambient air are well known in the art, and useful in many applications. In candles, such clips provide a means to position the wick for the most efficient provision of fuel, such as candle wax, to the flame, while in vapor dispensing devices, such wick clips secure a wick by which a vaporizable liquid is delivered from a reservoir to an exposed surface.
More recently, melting plate candles and simmer plate dispensers have been used to provide rapid melting of a solid fuel element and/or rapid dispensing of a vaporizable material to the atmosphere. An example of such a dispensing device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,780,382, issued Aug. 24, 2004, in which a dispenser for active materials is shown. This reference, incorporated herein by reference, illustrates a melting plate dispenser of volatile materials comprising a solid fuel containing active material, a consumable wick, and a heat conductive base having conductive elements, and the configuration of such elements.
In application Ser. No. 09/747,525, filed Dec. 20, 2000, a melting plate candle comprising solid fuel, a consumable wick, a concave melting plate comprising a lobe by which heat is conducted from the flame upon the candle to the plate, and the configuration of such elements, are shown.
In addition to the above, application Ser. No. 10/780,028, filed Feb. 17, 2004, teaches a candle comprising solid fuel, a melting plate, a lobe that engages a wick holder which comprises a wick and which conducts heat to said lobe and to said melting plate. In this application, said wick holder engages said lobe in such a manner as to create a capillary flow of melted fuel to the wick itself.
In each of the above references, the melting plate candle provides a relatively rapid means for heating the solid fuel to its melting point, thereby improving efficiency of the candle. However, it has now been found that even more efficient, and more particularly, more rapid melting of the solid fuel may be achieved by means of specific modifications of the wick holding device.